Rating: ![3 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-3-0.gif) Summary: Deceiving, when compared to the 3 first. Review: First of all, one should notice that in the 3 first books, there is an evolution in the world created by Lawhead (in religion especially, and in culture too) that makes place for new things to happen. Pendragon is barely a remixt of the past two books, with the difference that the foe, instead of being plenty (Saecsens, picts, irish, scots...), are only two, the Vandali and the plague, but they are more powerful. Also, as noted in a previous review, it includes a bunch of contradictions. I believe Merlin finally discovered for sure that Arthur was the King three or four times in the book! For readers of the original trilogy, I remind that it is Avallach who identified Arthur as the King. You may read the book, but don't set your hopes too high, or you'll be deceived.
Rating: ![4 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-4-0.gif) Summary: Gets better with each reading Review: I just finished reading Pendragon for the third or fourth time and enjoyed the book this reading more than any other. As I age, I enjoy different aspects of Lawhead's books with each reading and Pendragon was no different. Many ancient traditions of oaths, fealty, and faith are made present to the reader through the story and characters of Pendragon. In this way the reader comes in contact with holy ideas long forgotten in our present age. I love the characters and this story was one more adventure with those I love like Arthur, Gwenhwyvar, Cai, Bedwyr, Lleanlleawg, and Merlin. Merlin is such a tragic and triumphant character! Read this book, it is well worth the journey. One more thing, one of the other reviewers claims that Merlin recognizes Arthur as the Summer Lord several times in Pendragon, when it is Avallach in Arthur who recognizes Arthur. I read Pendragon, specifically looking for this fault, but I never found it. It is true that Merlin doesn't recognize Arthur in Part 1 of Pendragon, but this takes place chronologically before Avallach recognizes Arthur in the book Arthur. Thus, as far as I can tell, there is no discrepancy. This reviewer may be mistaken.
Rating: ![4 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-4-0.gif) Summary: Gets better with each reading Review: I just finished reading Pendragon for the third or fourth time and enjoyed the book this reading more than any other. As I age, I enjoy different aspects of Lawhead's books with each reading and Pendragon was no different. Many ancient traditions of oaths, fealty, and faith are made present to the reader through the story and characters of Pendragon. In this way the reader comes in contact with holy ideas long forgotten in our present age. I love the characters and this story was one more adventure with those I love like Arthur, Gwenhwyvar, Cai, Bedwyr, Lleanlleawg, and Merlin. Merlin is such a tragic and triumphant character! Read this book, it is well worth the journey. One more thing, one of the other reviewers claims that Merlin recognizes Arthur as the Summer Lord several times in Pendragon, when it is Avallach in Arthur who recognizes Arthur. I read Pendragon, specifically looking for this fault, but I never found it. It is true that Merlin doesn't recognize Arthur in Part 1 of Pendragon, but this takes place chronologically before Avallach recognizes Arthur in the book Arthur. Thus, as far as I can tell, there is no discrepancy. This reviewer may be mistaken.
Rating: ![1 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-1-0.gif) Summary: Lawhead continues to mess up the original Arthurian tales Review: I was very disappointed with this book. I, too, noticed that Cai's green eyes had made a sudden shift to blue, but since his eyes are only mentioned once, this is easy to miss. At one point in the book, Lawhead states that Arthur's warriors "plight their troth" to Arthur. Well, Lawhead should look this up in the dictionary--the way he used it is very confusing, because to "plight one's troth" has the primary meaning of getting engaged to someone in order to marry them. Not until I got to the third meaning in my dictionary did it state "to swear an oath of allegiance". Gwenhyvar never had a chance, I guess--Arthur had married his generals. :)The legend that concerns Twrch Trwyth is actually the story of Culhwch and Olwen. Culhwch wants to marry Olwen, but before he can do so, he must fulfill a series of quests put upon him by Olwen's father. One is to kill the boar Twrch Trwyth (whose name I was unable to find a meaning for) and get the comb and razor from between the great boar's ears. This boar just so happens to be a king who ticked off God and, Quite literally, was turned into a boar, and all of his household and followers were turned into piglets. Arthur is not the main character in this story, he has sort of been just stuck in, because all he really does is assist Culhwch in his various tasks (along with another character, Mabon, who happens to be a Celtic god). The chase of the hunt for Twrch Trwyth starts in Ireland, but ends up in South Wales and Cornwall--not Scotland. Arthur does not get so severely injured that he needs to be healed with the Grail, either--in fact, this tale is an oddity in the Arthurian mythos because it has absolutely nothing to do with the Grail, or any of the other stories in the Arthurian legend. Lawhead also employs a very odd narrative technique here, one that ended up irritating rather than helping. In the middle of the battle, Merlin suddenly goes racing off, and of course the reader is forced to follow him because he's the narrator. This was very annoying, because then the reader is left wondering what is happening with the battle while Merlin goes off investigating the plague. It would have been far better to have someone else narrating this part of the book, like Bedwyr or Cai, so that Merlin's racing off doesn't produce such a weird break in the action, and when he came back he could tell them all about the plague. Even though Merlin does eventually return, and finds out nothing has happened since he was gone (?!), this has still got to be one of the worst ways to write a book. Oddly enough, the plague is supposed to be this big huge menace, but it gets very short shrift in this book. I suppose the reason for this is that the plague problem will be dealt with in Grail. Gwenhyvar--well, we get more background on her, but still no explanation of why she's got a Welsh name and she's Irish. In the original Arthurian myths, she is Welsh, so the name makes sense there, but not in Lawhead's book. I am still completely mystified as to why Charis is called The Lady of the Lake. At least we get to see now the connection between Avallach and the Grail, and that "The Fisher King" is not just a title, but that he really does have a connection to the Grail like the Arthurian Fisher King did. Llenlleawg--it should have been pointed out earlier that he was supposed to be Lancelot. All through Arthur I thought Lot was Lancelot, because Lancelot is the only knight who falls out of Arthur's favor. While it was briefly mentioned in this book, it still should have been done earlier. Also, after swearing off fighting because of the loss of Ganieda, why does Merlin pick up a sword again? In Merlin he is committed to helping the Summer Kingdom come to fruitition, but not through fighting! Suddenly he picks up a sword again, forgetting all about his lost love and his unborn child that was killed, and goes off fighting again! His vision is restored fairly quickly after he lost it--how is it that Aneirin, the narrator in the last section of Arthur, still thought he was blind? This section picks up many years after Pendragon--something like 5-10 at least, maybe even more than that. There are a lot of mistakes and inconsistencies in this book. I really dislike this kind of sloppy writing, and "rewriting because I feel like it" is not a good enough reason to me to be severely altering the Arthurian stories, which are good enough in their own right.
Rating: ![2 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-2-0.gif) Summary: A let down. Review: Much of this book was merely a retelling of what happened in Arthur. It's major virtue is that it helps clear up the end of the last one.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: Lawhead returns to the era of Arthur's Early Reign Review: Pendragon is the fourth of Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle, an excellent reimagining of the King Arthur legend. Set right after Arthur's coronation, with Merlin as the narrator, Pendragon tells the story of Arthur as a new king facing adversity both in England and abroad in Ireland. A huge armada arrives in Ireland while Arthur is visiting his ally Fergus, an armada looking for a new home, a home taken by force and led by the ruthless Boar. After a viscious fight in Ireland, the Boar leaves only to land in the very heart of Arthur's new kingdom which has just been struck by a terrible plague that may wipe out the kingdom. Arthur must go beyond himself and find a way to defeat both a cunning and deadly enemy as well as a way to stop a unseen plague.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: Lawhead did it again! Review: Pendragon, the fouth in the Pendragon cycle, is another tale of Arthur, Merlin and their companions. It focuses on the invasion of the Vandals, and the plague that accompanies it. The story is not overall super-happy, but it is a realistic tale of how victory is hard-earned, and some enemies are just too tough to take on ourselves. It has moments that will make you weep, and others that will have you dying with laughter (especially the marriage of Arthur & Gwehnyvar, and Merlin's reaction!) I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Arthurian legend and early Celtic history.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: The book was exciting and uplifting with great charactrers. Review: Strong characters and a great plot made the story great. It boardered the fantastic and touched on the spiritual in a way that appealed to me as a Christian. The language was pure art and told of great heroes and villains in the timeless struggle of good and evil. The story was gut- wrenching without being ugly. It was inspiring and innocent without being preachy or childish . Great Light, let me go to visit The Pendragon in his Kingdom of Summer again! LONG LIVE THE KING!
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: Really good book Review: This book concentrates on Merlin's travel to the otherworld when he is separated from Arthur. Make sure to read Merlin and Arthur before reading this book because Ganieda and Pelleas are in this book as well. This book should be reserved for those who have bought the other three (Tailisian Merlin and Arthur) because there are events(dreams) that refer to the previous books. Buy any book that has Steven Lawhead as the author. You will be satified with the results
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